Windows software use on linux?(i.e. photoshop, google chrome, itunes)

I am getting ready to build a new computer for my fall semester of college, well getting ready to slowly buy parts, but im doing a barebook build, and I have been researching Linux, and I'm aware that there are numerous kinds or distros and all are different in certain ways, but im an amateur photographer, so i need to use cs5 and adobe lightroom, etc, and i need other software such as a typing program (word, powerpoint, etc). my qustion is: is it possible to get such software on linux (probably the unbuntu version), because this will be my sole computer throughout college and my editing workshop. Like i said, i have NO experience at all with any type of linux, so any advice is a help, even if you just tell me to go with windows instead. thanks

You can run numerous Windows apps under Linux via the Wine compatibility layer, but considering you will be using the system for school, I suggest going ahead with purchasing and installing Windows. An app developed for Windows typically offers no official support for running on another platform, and just because the Windows app runs via Wine, it does not mean each and every aspect of the app will function exactly the same as in Windows.

With that said, I am definitely not turning you away from Linux. I use Debian, Unbuntu, and others on multiple architectures, from generic x86 personal computers to an Itanium HPC workstation. There are thousands of native and ported applications available for Linux, with many replicating features found in comparable Windows apps.

Instead of diving straight into Linux as the primary operating system on your school system, I suggest instead starting out with using Linux on an existing personal computer. If you do not have a spare system, you could perhaps opt for trying Linux under VirtualBox or similar system virtualization utility. For example:

That does make sense to maybe test it our before I make it my dedicated OS. Thanks a lot, I didn't even know that a "test" like that is offered. And I did hear about wine before, I just didn't know if it worked with near every windows app. But yeah, I'll test run Linux, and maybe everything will work properly, app wise. If so ill go that way for sure.

Also, I've used Open Office before, and dislike it, is there a way to get word on a Linux? Perhaps through wine?

No, it was a whole bundle of Ubuntu with some 3D apps, 2D Apps, and some others stuff, looking up some more, looks like Ubuntu Studio was the one, as its got some 2D & 3D editing/rendering apps in it like Blender.

Think of the Disc as a Hard drive, and it loads frequently used data in to System RAM.

You shut your PC off, restart it, make sure the Optical Drive is the First Boot device (just like when installing windows from disc), pop the Live Linux CD/DVD into the drive, reboot the PC and give it some time.

It will read the disc, load the necessary data and drivers and what not into System RAM, and then load up, and you can try it out/use it, what ever.

Some Live CD's will give you an option to install the OS, when you start up, just skip that if it does.

it doesn't install anything to the Hard drive or affect Windows operations, unless you Install to hard drive.

Basically it allows you to Evaluate the OS with out installing... or Even allows you to use an OS with a PC with out any sort of Hard drive. Some will even allow you to save all your personal data and OS Settings to a USB Flash Drive for use next time.